[borg16]

one thing i definitely worry is about using public lands for oil, mineral extraction purposes.

while America has a bounty of public land acreage wise, 4 years and a complete control of the government is a lot of time to do some lasting damage to the ecosystem by opening up these areas for privatization.

[autoexec]

The environment is certainly screwed. I also expect that regulations against air and water pollution will be on the chopping block so not only will the ecosystem suffer, but the population will too.

[andrei_says_]

I prefer the word “biosphere”. Our biosphere is going to be poisoned, faster, and we in it.

[_heimdall]

The recent media attention on possible lithium fields in and around Arkansas was an interesting one to me. It seems like one that I could see the DNC latching onto for battery capacity despite the fact that it would still likely meaning he same kind of impact in federal land as mining oil, coal, etc.

[fraserharris]

Lithium deposits are common -- Nevada has significant ones too. The question is if the lithium is concentrated enough to make extracting it financially viable.

[lordswork]

Emissions are the bigger issue. Unfortunately, some sort of mining is still required for emission and emission-free sources of energy.

[i_am_a_peasant]

I highly doubt that it's just 4 years of republicans. I think they'll win the 2 terms after trump as well, so we're potentially looking at 12 years of republicans in the white house.

[xnx]

Agree. There are a lot of mistakes that can be undone, but ecological damage can take decades to restore its former beauty, and extinct species don't come back (some recent headlines notwithstanding).

[culi]

It's hard to see Trump do any worse than Biden on this front, but I'm sure he'll try. Biden admin approved over 50% more oil/drilling permits than Trump. More than any president in history

[kagakuninja]

And yet people continue to blame Biden for high energy prices. Boggles the mind.

[danudey]

4 years and a complete control of the supreme court guarantees lasting damage to the ecosystem (and all other aspects of society) since all the conservative/right-wing issues just need to be appealed up to SCOTUS and they'll get their way - and set legal precedent on the way.

There's two justices ready to retire, and if Trump replaces them (and he will) that'll be five supreme court justices appointed by Trump and chosen by his cronies. The entire legal system will be corrupted for decades.

[lelandfe]

Bingo. The Tea Party went away. MAGA, though, is now harpooned straight into the checks and balances for a lifetime.

[qingcharles]

Right. This is the biggest damage Trump can do because it lasts so long after his presidency.

[bas]

Indeed. 5th Circuit -> SCOTUS will easy mode for right-wing causes (if it isn't already).

[partiallypro]

Realistically the GOP will have the complete control for only 2 years. Dems will sweep the midterms.

[xp84]

It depends -- for all his bad ideas (and there are many) some of the things he promises could be good and impactful, and he may have enough leverage and power to do this time, especially when contrasting SCOTUS 2017 with SCOTUS 2025.

I think 2026 will be a referendum on:

- Has Trump F'd things up severely?

and

- Have Democrats stopped running on DEI as the main reason to vote for them and instead clearly laid out and justified their plans? And have they gained any support outside the elites?

[crdrost]

One irony atop another: securing this land (against the onslaught of big business) was a celebration for Conservatives, not Liberals.

That and, I miss the Republican party that didn't actively try to piss off the ACLU every hour on the hour. It's just nonstop…

• book bans • rhetoric about sending the military after political opponents • politicians ruled as being above the law • short circuiting due process with immigrants, both illegal and not • breaking up families of would-be asylum seekers for no damn reason • the Trump Muslim ban • the constant erection of/for Ten Commandments statues

It used to be a thing in some conservative circles, “No, that teacher is Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region Council of 1912, not Council of 1879, I don't want his people educating my child about what he thinks the Ten Commandments really mean!!”

I used to fancy myself a conservative back then. The ACLU and libertarians were the people that the Left had kind of given up on, and we were happy to say “yes, come be conservative with us, and we will try not to piss you off.” Now everyone has given up on them, they had to hold their noses and vote Kamala and pray for a few more years of “not again.”

I'm not even a libertarian, just don't understand why we are wasting resources pissing them off

[dbish]

Kids are great and the world is less doomed than some will have you believe. We can improve, create, and make things better and that doesn’t happen if humanity dies out.